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The 2006 version of the Illini surprised again. Coach Theresa Grentz showed that she can still coach when she wants as she got more from her group of players than most thought she could. And she did it with a young squad that will return virtually intact for 2007.

Illinois was hurt early when the team’s top returning rebounder, Audrey Tabon, tore her acl in the preseason and missed the year. Despite that they started out the season strong, but played such a weak non-conference schedule that it was hard to get excited about them. But a gamble worked out and a freshman stepped in to give the Illini their strongest Big 10 finish in seven years. Of course, the Big 10 was way down and fourth place was not nearly as impressive as it usually is, but still Illinois did stop their downward slide of past seasons.

The gamble involved sophomore guard Lori Bjork. Bjork had made the league’s all freshman team the season before as a shooting guard. The graduation of point guard Maggie Acuna left a huge hole and Grentz gambled that Bjork could handle those duties and maintain her scoring average. She more than succeeded. Bjork averaged 14.3 points and 3 assists a game and ran the offense effectively enough for the Illini to finish sixth in points scored in conference games.

The freshman was post player Jenna Smith. Smith had the highest profile of any Illini recruit in years and she lived up to her expectations. She provided the team with a solid post presence and averaged 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Behind her, the Illini had the best rebounding margin in the league.

As important as those two were, they were not the most important factor in the team’s success. After years of seemingly not caring about playing defense, the team, or perhaps the coaches, suddenly rediscovered the importance of holding opponents in check.

After allowing conference opponents to shoot over 40% for the past two seasons, the Illini held Big 10 teams to 38.4% shooting. They improved their three point shooting defense from 33.3% to 27.7%. While that may not seem like a lot, it was enough to keep them in more games than they had been in previous seasons. Only three Big 10 teams allowed league teams to score fewer points than Illinois did.

More importantly, the team competed. That is a quality that cannot be quantified by numbers. But it is vital to the success of any program. The key to the team’s competitiveness was Bjork. She is a feisty player who leads by example.

While they were better, the Illini were still not a top team. They were an average team offensively and a good one on the boards. On the plus side, they got consistently better as the season went on. If Grentz had played a more competitive non-league schedule, they might have started out the Big 10 season stronger and been better earlier.

Beyond Bjork and Smith, Danyel Crutcher, Chelsea Gordon and Lacey Simpson all had solid seasons. Simpson, especially, at times showed flashes of becoming an impact player.

All five return next season, as will Tabon. When the season ended, it looked as if Grentz was in a position to turn the corner and move her program back up the standings. She asked for and was denied an extension on her contract. A few weeks later, she surprisingly resigned, leaving the Illini in decent shape for whoever succeeds her.

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